Tea With A Fox
by CanaanAlshea
Summary: Kuwabarra And Kurama, Spending An Afternoon Together.


Kuwabarra had come over to ask a question...not exactly a simple question, but a question nonetheless. He stood in front of the door, taking a deep breath. "Just knock, you idiot," he whispered to himself, "I'm sure he's fine..." Finally, he raised his fist, rapped three times on the door to the house he'd never visited.

There was no response.

"Ku-Suichi?" he called out, fidgeting, "It's me... I...had a question..." He was hesitant to reveal his true reason for coming; his mom could have been in there! And then he would have to face the wrath of a very angry demon and that was something he absolutely did not want to do, no sir.

Slowly, the door opened; the chain on the inside stopped it at about two inches. Kuwabarra scratched his head nervously, "Uh...hi...I was wondering if Suichi was here?"

"He is not," said a raspy voice, "Can I leave a message?"

"Oh no," Kuwabarra took a step back, laughing to cover his embarrassment; maybe he'd gotten the wrong building again, "I'll just...be going now." As he turned, he heard laughter, and he felt his ears heat up as he blushed.

"Kuwabarra," the man said, "Come inside." He heard the chain fall, and the stranger vanished into the shadows of the house. Carefully, Kuwabarra walked inside, toeing off his shoes and glancing around the corner. Plants...everywhere. And Kurama's energy was here...erratic, but definitely there. But where was-

"Surprise..." He jumped, turning to see a vaguely familiar figure leaning against the wall. Long white hair, yellow eyes and...twitchy, cat like ears he really wanted to pet. And he was wearing something similar to his normal fighting outfits, but looser, and black...

"Woah," Kuwabarra looked him up and down (had his friend always been that tall as Yoko? He'd never seen him close up), "Lookin' good man. I'm really digging the new clothes."

"Well thank you," Yoko waved him inside, turning on his heel to go back into the kitchen, "Come inside, have some tea. I don't bite." "I know that," he scoffed, obediently following his friend through the narrow hall, "I'm not afraid of you."

"Oh," Kurama grinned, flashing sharp teeth, "Well, that's a hearty mistake on your part, my friend."

Kuwabarra gulped, suddenly aware that he'd locked the door behind him and that was possibly a very big mistake-

He looked up at the sound of laughter; Kurama's voice was deeper, husky and somewhat coarse as though his human form had smoked too many cigarettes back to back. "Kuwabarra," he waved an elegant hand toward the couch, "Please, sit. Relax. I'm still Kurama, after all."

"Right, right," the redhead collapsed on the couch, looking at the cups and tea pot that seemed to have come from nowhere. "I hope oolong suits your taste," the kitsune poured gracefully, holding out the china on the tips of long fingers, "I'm afraid the only other tea I have on hand would make you quite ill..."

Kuwabarra took the cup, nodding in thanks before taking a sip, "Not bad," he smiled, "But I gotta say, this is...weird..." The kitsune was very pale; even his eyelashes were white...the gold of his eyes seemed so loud, and he glowed in the dim lighting. "Hm," Kurama hummed, casually tapping his claws on the arm of the chair, "I agree. It's very weird. But I'm afraid I hadn't much choice; trying to contain my energy in my human form was bordering on masochistic. Another few weeks and it would have caused physical harm."

"That...sucks..." Kuwabarra sipped, smiling, feeling a little more relaxed, "Hey, this is really good!" another sip; he sat back against the sofa, stretching and balancing the cup against his knee, "So, how long are you gonna be stuck in demon form? I mean, you're not going to go to the grocery store and stuff like that, are you?"

"I'm glad you like it," Kurama nodded his head, smiling softly, "I cannot give you an exact time frame. It shouldn't be more than a week or two... Just long enough for me to become claustrophobic."

"Oh, yeah," he hissed in a breath, "Guess being stuck inside all day would be annoying to you...sorry...that was dumb."

"Hardly," the fox waved a hand, leaning back to rest his arms on the back of the couch, legs crossed at the knee, "It was an honest question and you had no way of knowing. I have plenty of food to sustain me, books for entertainment; I appreciate the concern. Oh," his ears twitched, eyebrows raising, "When you came to the door you had a question for me. Is there something bothering you? I'm sorry to have ignored you..."

"Oh, psh," Kazuma shook his head, "Nah, I was coming to ask you if you were okay because I could feel your energy spike clear across town...but I already got my answer."

"Ah. I'm glad it could be resolved so swiftly then." His ears twitched again...

"Okay," Kuwabarra took a deep breath, setting his cup down, "I do have another question. And it's a weird one. And if you want to kick my ass I'm only asking you don't use that creepy plant that melts bones or-"

"Kazuma!" Yoko tilted his head as he laughed, "Please, do calm down. I can smell your anxiety from here. And I promise not to feed you to a plant. Hang you from the ceiling perhaps, should you become obnoxious but," he grinned, "Unlikely. Ask your strange question."

Kuwabarra took a deep breath, watching white lips purse to cool the tea, "Can I...pet your ears?"

Sputtering, the kitsune lurched forward, barely catching his cup, "I beg your pardon?"

"Well, it's just, ya see," flustered, the human waved his hands, "Your ears look a lot like a cats, all fuzzy and stuff and I was just wondering if they were at all like a cats so I just wanted to poke 'em and I was also wondering do foxes purr or anything and how good is your sense of smell-"

"Kuwabarra!" Laughing, Kurama held up a hand to halt the tirade of questions, "Please, settle down. I'm not angry, it just startled me. My ears are very cat like, yes, in terms of texture, but foxes by nature have better hearing. So in that sense, no, I am not like a cat. I do not purr, as I do not possess the vocal chords necessary, and my sense of smell is about..." he paused, pursing his lips thoughtfully, "90 times greater than that of a dog's. To be perfectly honest, I could smell you when you got to the end of my block."

"Woah," Kuwabarra grinned, "So, there's no sneaking up on you even if I hide the spirit energy eh?"

"No," Yoko shrugged casually, "Even if you were able to completely hide your energy, I would have known you were coming." The tip of his tail swished back and forth, a pattern Kuwabarra figured meant he was relaxed.

'Ears' They swiveled just a little as a truck horn blared. Kurama didn't seem to notice; did he even do it on purpose, or was it like Eikichi's ears that moved even when she slept? He decided not to ask that one...

"Kazuma," Kurama cocked his head, long, white hair spilling over his shoulders, "You're staring again..."

"Oh...right, sorry."

A moment passed. The kitsune finally sighed, shook his head with a smile, "Alright, get it out of your system...you may pet my ears. But if you pull them I'll make good on that threat to hang you from the ceiling by my vines..."

Were he not such a manly man, Kuwabarra would have made a squeal of joy. When Kurama tipped his head to the side, rolling his eyes good naturedly, he reached over, gently running his finger along the edges of the furry appendages. 'Soft...' Yoko twitched one pointedly, laughing along with Kuwabarra who was much more at ease.

When the human pulled away, Kurama sat cross legged, resting his elbow on his knee and his chin on the palm of his hand; the relaxed posture would further put his friend at ease, "Was there anything else you wanted to know, since you're here and I have absolutely nothing on my schedule?"

"Oh...not really..." fidgeting, Kuwabarra took a deep breath, "Okay. Yeah some. I mean...we really don't...know that much about each other, you know? You like plants and that's about as far as my knowledge goes. And I feel bad because it's not that I don't like you I just...never got the chance to ask."

"Well," Kurama shrugged one shoulder, "Now is the perfect time then. I admittedly know very little of you as well. Shall we conduct an interview? You ask one, and then I will, until the curiosity is sated?"

"Sweet! Deal. Me first," rubbing his hands together, he looked up, thoughtfully, "So...you control plants right? As in, you can grow anything?"

"Yes," a white brow quirked, "Was that the full extent of your question?"

"No. But you just asked me one, so I get to go again anyway."

"Fair enough," the fox nodded, smiling, "Go on."

"Since you can grow plants...have you ever grown anything illegal? Like...opium, marijuana and stuff that makes you stoned?"

Startled, Kurama laughed again, shaking his head, "Heavens no. I've no need for such things. Although admittedly, I had visited an opium den in my younger days. My turn," he cocked his head, "Hm...it pertains to your family, and honestly, if you don't feel like answering I won't hold it against you and I'll apologize. I'm genuinely curious."

"Alright, shoot," Kuwabarra shrugged, not at all bothered by the disclaimer.

"Did your sister raise you, or are your parents merely...consistently absent? I've never seen nor smelled anyone else in your home."

"Really? You wanted to know about my folks?" Kuwabarra chuckled, "Nah, they were around a lot more when I was growing up. They work in some fancy wine business, and they're gone like eight, nine months outta the year. When they come down for Christmas, I'll introduce you."

"Ah," Kurama nodded, "Good to know. Thank you for your honesty."

"You're welcome. And now, my turn...," squinting suspiciously, he leaned forward, "How old are you? Really?"

Blinking, the fox cocked his head, taking a moment to think, "I don't know my specific age. How old do you think I am?"

Kuwabarra thought carefully, "...100?"

Kurama sniggered, hiding his grin behind long fingers, "At 100 years old I was still clinging to my mothers apron! Kitsune age slowly. I stopped counting a very, very long time ago. All I can tell you is I'm well past my four thousandth year. My turn for a question," leaning back, he steepled his fingers, "Hm...Ah, I know; you have a high awareness, spiritually, but when you met Hiei and myself, you didn't seem uneasy about threatening him. Were you confident that we would not harm you, or were you simply acting on impulse?"

"Oh...that.." Taking a deep breath, Kuwabarra laughed nervously, "Well, I didn't exactly...know you guys were demons. I've been able to sense energy all my life, runs in the family, but you guys had yours pretty well hidden...I didn't know you guys were demons...I just thought you were weird humans like Urameshi and me."

"Well that makes sense, I suppose. At least you weren't purposefully trying to get Hiei to stab you. That, my friend, would have been stupid," suddenly, he stood, stretching long arms over his head and sighing, "If you'll excuse me, I've become peckish. I grew these myself this morning," he gestured to a large basket, full of fruits and vegetables, some of which Kuwabarra didn't recognize, "If you're hungry you are more than welcome to them. Although," he glanced at the clock, the tip of his tail swishing back and forth against the cabinets, "I'm assuming you have to go somewhere soon. I'm sorry, I didn't realize how much time had passed."

"Cool!" Kuwabarra dug through the offered food, finally selecting a square and bright purple...fruit? and taking a tiny nibble from it. "Tastes like...grapey-peach champagne with a hint of coconut," encouraged, he took a larger bite, "Man, that's delicious! What the heck is it though?"

"It's called a Cazudanga. Very popular in the humid areas of Makai and it's one of my personal favorites."  
"Oh and uh..." Kuwabarra looked from his friend to the clock, to the fruit in his hand, "I could get going, yeah. I mean it's been a couple hours. Guess I should get out of your way now, huh?" (1)

"You are by no means a hostage," the kitsune shrugged, "But if you'd like to stay longer I certainly have no objections. I enjoy your company."

"You do?"

"Absolutely," Kurama smiled, "If you'd like, I could show you the greenhouse I have set up in the backyard...or if you can figure out how to work the satellite dish and you could pick a movie."

"Cool. Yes to both by the way," jumping up, Kuwabarra walked over to the back door, pausing with his hand on the knob, "...Okay, seriously though, is there anything out there that's going to eat me?"

"Several," Kurama shrugged, "But so long as you steer clear of the red vines hanging from the corners, you should be alright with me there. Don't worry; my pets are tame."

"Pets...right..." laughing nervously, "Pets with...spit that dissolves concrete..."

"Kuwabarra," playfully, Kurama put a hand to his chest, "You remembered. I'm flattered. But no, that particular breed is not in my collection at the moment. It's far too troublesome to reel in once provoked." Somehow, that didn't make Kuwabarra feel any better.

"Maybe we could start small?" stepping into his shoes, Kazuma glanced warily at the twitching flowers by the doorknob, "I mean, if you've got any flowers that...aren't going to hurt, that would be swell."

"Ah, then I have just the thing," Kurama opened the door for him, "I have a flower that merely changes color depending on the energy levels of the person touching it. I used it for security purposes in my younger days."

"That sounds pretty...seriously though, how many of your plants are capable of hurting me?"

"About seventy percent of them."

"Seventy...?"

"Come along Kuwabarra," the kitsune walked out, barefoot and grinning, "I promise, none of them are actually going to kill you. Most of them are only capable of causing moderate discomfort."

"Oh yeah, that makes me feel lots better!" he waved his arms, "But Kuwabarra is a man, and afraid of no plants!"

"Even the Obinigari that requires human blood as nourishment?"

"WHAT?!"

"Nothing!"

 _END!_  
 _I really wanted to write something about Yoko and Kuwabarra. And it turned out way longer than I planned but I had a hard time figuring out how to end the darn thing. Hope you liked it and found it entertaining. This was pretty dialogue heavy and in third person, completely out of my element; if you made it this far, I'll assume it didn't bore you to tears. Please leave nice reviews! *throws candy*_  
 _1: Realistically, there's no way a couple of hours went by. But it's the fanfiction universe, so play along please. ^-^_


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